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Big Data, when used correctly, has the potential to help companies accurately forecast the probability of winning specific deals and reaching their sales goals, writes Drew Zarges. "Think back to the investment you made in your [customer relationship management] system. ... It's time to start reaping the full benefit of what it can provide," he writes.

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Many sales leaders feel the need to coach their lowest-performing representatives, but their time would generally be better spent working with salespeople who are already successful, writes Drew Zarges. Sales leaders also should ensure that all representatives -- including top employees -- are using the customer relationship management system, and managers must be willing to try new approaches rather than putting more resources into initiatives that aren't producing results.

Reacting quickly to your customers' behavior is key for running a successful e-mail marketing campaign, writes Neil Rosen, CEO of eWayDirect. For example, you may want to send messages to welcome new customers or to follow up with customers who have contacted your sales organization, he writes. This strategy "costs almost nothing to implement ... and provides you with the best [customer relationship management] ever: it gives your customers the sense that you listened to what they said and responded to it," he writes.

Companies frequently run into trouble by failing to establish the right balance between sales goals and the actions they tie incentives to. Tom Giddens, director of sales at Aflac, offers four incentive guidelines that the insurance giant follows to motivate more than 60,000 independent sales agents.

High-performing salespeople tend to excel at some pursuit in their personal lives, whether it be playing the guitar or making model airplanes, writes Jim Keenan. "Exceptional people have learned what it takes to achieve greatness," he writes. "They have learned to take a passion and turn it into achievement or performance." For this reason, you should be wary of hiring people who are not good at anything besides work, he writes.

Having data and analyses that support your assertions is important when discussing sales performance with the head of your company, writes Drew Zarges. A customer relationship management system can be a valuable tool for this purpose, but only if it has been implemented properly. A CRM system should provide such benefits as forecasting accuracy and assistance with lead management, Zarges writes.